Chamber of Digital Commerce Receives Donation From Overstock

Chamber of Digital Commerce is announcing that they are the first benefactors of Overstock's commitment to spend 4 % of its Bitcoin revenue on increasing adoption of the digital currency.

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Last week, volunteers organized by the Chamber of Digital Commerce went to Washington D.C. to educate congressional staffers about Bitcoin and blockchain technologies. You can read our write up on Bitcoin Education Day here.

Overstockhas committed to spend 4 % of its Bitcoin revenue on increasing adoption of the digital currency. Overstock has quietly let slip that The Chamber of Digital Commerce will be among the first recipients of program.

The Chamber of Digital Commerce and its associated political action committee intend to promote Bitcoin in Washington. The funding amount was not disclosed, but should nonetheless provide a big shot in the arm for the Chamber, which was founded just last month.

News of the donation was quietly mentioned by Overstock through a broader article by Gigaom about Overstock's success with Bitcoin. The plan is to donate the 4 % of Bitcoin revenue to a different Bitcoin-centric charity or cause on a monthly basis.

When officially announcing the donation, the Chamber commented:

“The Chamber of Digital Commerce is honored to be the first recipient of Overstock's largesse. We are gratified that the work of the Chamber is being recognized and we pledge to use these funds to further promote the acceptance and use of digital currencies among government and the larger public.

“We encourage all industry leaders to unite and provide resources, whether through the Chamber, its PAC, or otherwise, to support gaining appropriate recognition and appreciation by our lawmakers of Bitcoin and blockchain technology.”

When we reached out to the Chamber for further comment, they told us that they were as surprised as anyone about the news and were awaiting more details from Overstock.com.

When asked for comment, Overstock gave us this:

“We’ve yet to distribute any of our Bitcoin revenues, but will begin to do so shortly, and when we do, we intend to make the Chamber of Digital Commerce a recipient.”

It remains unclear exactly how much the donation will be or if it will go entirely to the Chamber. Yahoo recently reported that Overstock is currently grossing about USD $300,000 in Bitcoin sales every month, a number Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne expects to be at USD $1,000,000 by the end of the year. The USD $300,000 figure would put Overstock's first month donation at around the USD $12,000 mark.

Byrne, who makes regular appearances at Bitcoin conventions, estimates that Bitcoin is responsible for adding four cents to his company's stock value.